What Are You Preserving, and How Are You Doing It? (2016–)

[ninagluck]

new batch of Harissa, I keep it dry and mix it with more oil when needed

[ChocoMom]

  Pressure canned these green and yellow beans this afternoon. Might had canned more, but we've been eating them like crazy with dinner

[liamsaunt]

Two quarts of summer squash refrigerator pickles.  I got the recipe from the Six Seasons cookbook

 

[Shelby]

44 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Two quarts of summer squash refrigerator pickles.  I got the recipe from the Six Seasons cookbook

 

Pretty!

[ElsieD]

I would like some advice on drying tomatoes.  I have the new Breville Air" oven which has a dehydrator setting.  I would like to try my hand at drying Roma tomatoes.  The consensus seems to be, from what I have read, that you cut them in half, cut the stern end out, dry the cut surfaces, place them cut side up on a rack which is placed on a tray, sprinkle them lightly with salt and  dehydrate them for 8 hours.  I would check them from time to time as they dehydrate at different times;  they should have the consistency of dried apricots.  I can also use an oven set to 170F with the door propped open and dehydrate for 12 to 13 hours.  Does all of this make sense?  Or should I be doing something differently?  

[kayb]

I'd be surprised if they dried in that length of time, unless that's one heckuva dehydrator. I've had moderate luck, though, drying cherry and grape tomatoes,halved, tossed olive oil and salt, and put on a rack in the oven at 250 overnight. I'd think I might slice the Romas, myself.

 

 

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

I'd be surprised if they dried in that length of time, unless that's one heckuva dehydrator. I've had moderate luck, though, drying cherry and grape tomatoes,halved, tossed olive oil and salt, and put on a rack in the oven at 250 overnight. I'd think I might slice the Romas, myself.

 

 

 

@kayb  Thank you.  They are both convection ovens, if that makes any difference.  Today at the market I bought a small basket of 7 Roma tomatoes.  I'll put some in each oven first thing tomorrow and see what happens.  My normal bed time is 1:00 AM so if they go on at 9:00 AM that gives them 16 hours.   Do you or anyone else know why I should salt them first?  

[MelissaH]

23 hours ago, ElsieD said:

 

@kayb  Thank you.  They are both convection ovens, if that makes any difference.  Today at the market I bought a small basket of 7 Roma tomatoes.  I'll put some in each oven first thing tomorrow and see what happens.  My normal bed time is 1:00 AM so if they go on at 9:00 AM that gives them 16 hours.   Do you or anyone else know why I should salt them first?  

Well, salt will help to drive out the water. Salt will also help preserve the tomatoes better by giving you another attack against bacteria growing. And salt makes them taste better.

[curls]

Canned some tomatoes this weekend using the Tomatoes in jars recipe from Vivian Howard's "Deep Run Roots". Looking forward to making some of her recipes that call for these tomatoes. Have enough tomatoes to can some more tomorrow night.

[Shelby]

22 minutes ago, curls said:

Canned some tomatoes this weekend using the Tomatoes in jars recipe from Vivian Howard's "Deep Run Roots". Looking forward to making some of her recipes that call for these tomatoes. Have enough tomatoes to can some more tomorrow night.

Nothing much prettier to me than canned 'maters!  Nice job!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My boss told me she was spending the weekend canning tomatoes with her daughter.

 

Edited September 5, 2017 by JoNorvelleWalker
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[Smithy]

My husband's daughter, a friend and I spent the weekend making and canning salsa.  Last year was our first year doing this, thanks to the largesse of her brother-in-law and his bumper crop of tomatoes and peppers; I wonder if he knew how many people he'd get hooked on the process? This year there was no such gift, so we kept going back to the local farm stand for more. We made 24 quarts' worth. Maybe this will last our families through the year? Nah...I may make more when we get home, just to be sure. Here's the haul that hadn't already been inhaled or given away, before we split it 2 ways.

 

 

 

 

Each day's batch was a bit hotter than the previous, thanks to changes in the balance and type of peppers. I think we hit our upper limit with the last batch. Does anyone know what variety of peppers these are?  

 

 

The top one, with the crooked neck, is a good heat source. I brought these from the farm stand at home, where the salesman didn't know the type and the farmer wasn't present to answer my questions.

[Anna N]

 

 I refuse to be intimidated by all you  Extreme Canners

 

These are actually quickles from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc. 

[Anna N]

 

Onion jam made in the Thermomix. Not terribly photogenic.  

[Shelby]

My mother-in-law was telling me a couple days ago that she has a craving for relish--zucchini relish piled on a hotdog.  She was going to make some but I think she said she was out of onions...and, also, I don't think she has a cuisinart so she would have to shred all of the ingredients by hand and that's a lot for her.  Anyway, I decided to be a good daughter-in-law and make some for her.  I hope she likes it......

 

Not too pretty of a picture, but ....

 

And after it's all canned up.  

 

 

I halved the recipe.....I should have halved it again because I don't know what I'll do with two whole pints for myself 

[caroled]

Gift them to her for Christmas!

 

[FauxPas]

Wow, some wonderful stuff here. I'm doing minimal stuff this summer, though I did make some super-small batches of jam - here are some raspberry, blackberry and apricot jams. Not processed, so we will have to try and use them up fairly quickly. 

 

[chromedome]

I have three experimental jars of dill pickles beginning the lacto-fermentation process. No pictures, because I never think of 'em until I'm sitting here at the computer. Also have been stocking up my herb stash for winter, drying some (parsley, oregano, sage, thyme, rosemary) and pureeing and freezing others (cilantro, more sage, basil, Thai basil). 

[TicTac]

Do you find dried parsley retains any of its original resemblance?

 

 

[chromedome]

I dry the whole leaves, and I find they do retain their flavor fairly well. You have to use more than you would if it was fresh, but I find that even one well-grown parsley plant provides plenty. The one I've got this year is so big I can't fit my arms around it, and it grew almost waist high. 

 

I've been gathering bunches the size of my head all summer long (and I've got a big head!) and it's still huge. 

[ChocoMom]

I forgot to take photos while I had everything out, but the list of canned/preserved foods is ever increasing:

pressure canned:

ground beef with taco seasoning.....14 pints

ground beef with peppers and onions (the base for Uncle Carl's sloppy joe)...8 quarts

ground beef with onion and Italian seasoning for spaghetti sauce or lasagna.7 quarts

stew meat.....7 pints or more. I lost count there, too. 

 

waterbath canned:

Blueberry/blackberry jam-7pints

Blueberry jam- 7 pints

smooth applesauce...7 pints

Blueberries in simple syrup....I lost count. 

 

Today, I'll do chunky applesauce.   Next week, I am butchering the 14 meat chickens- some of which will end up being canned.  The turkeys are not nearly ready for butchering.At this rate.  I'll likely end up dressing them Thanksgiving morning. :+/

 

 

 

 

[Shelby]

13 minutes ago, ChocoMom said:

I forgot to take photos while I had everything out, but the list of canned/preserved foods is ever increasing:

pressure canned:

ground beef with taco seasoning.....14 pints

ground beef with peppers and onions (the base for Uncle Carl's sloppy joe)...8 quarts

ground beef with onion and Italian seasoning for spaghetti sauce or lasagna.7 quarts

stew meat.....7 pints or more. I lost count there, too. 

 

waterbath canned:

Blueberry/blackberry jam-7pints

Blueberry jam- 7 pints

smooth applesauce...7 pints

Blueberries in simple syrup....I lost count. 

 

Today, I'll do chunky applesauce.   Next week, I am butchering the 14 meat chickens- some of which will end up being canned.  The turkeys are not nearly ready for butchering.At this rate.  I'll likely end up dressing them Thanksgiving morning. :+/

 

 

 

 

You always inspire me.  

 

I haven't done meat in the pressure canner yet.  Why?  I think it scares me and that is ridiculous.  I have tons of venison burger to use up so why not try canning?

(I'm giving myself a pep talk here).

 

Could you please share directions to doing the taco meat?  

[ChocoMom]

5 hours ago, Shelby said:

You always inspire me.  

 

I haven't done meat in the pressure canner yet.  Why?  I think it scares me and that is ridiculous.  I have tons of venison burger to use up so why not try canning?

(I'm giving myself a pep talk here).

 

Could you please share directions to doing the taco meat?  

 

The taco meat is easy.  Brown the ground beef, though it doesn't have to be entirely done.  For every pound of ground beef, add in a scant 5 TBS of taco seasoning.  Pack the ground beef in the pints, use the leftover beef juices to fill the jar with a 1" headspace.  Its going to be salty, but you can always drain and rinse a bit before using.  

You'd have to pressure can pints for 75 minutes, at 10 pounds.  I double stacked them in the pressure canner, and did 14 all at once. =) 

[Shelby]

13 minutes ago, ChocoMom said:

 

The taco meat is easy.  Brown the ground beef, though it doesn't have to be entirely done.  For every pound of ground beef, add in a scant 5 TBS of taco seasoning.  Pack the ground beef in the pints, use the leftover beef juices to fill the jar with a 1" headspace.  Its going to be salty, but you can always drain and rinse a bit before using.  

You'd have to pressure can pints for 75 minutes, at 10 pounds.  I double stacked them in the pressure canner, and did 14 all at once. =) 

Awesome!  I'm going out to get packages of venison burger to thaw out now.  We like salty, so it's all good    Thank you!

[naguere]

It is the Saurkraut season for me:

 

This may amuse you:
Sauerkraut, four large hard white cabbage, salt and seasoning.
cutting the first quarter piece I neglected to use the protector and sliced into my index finger through the nail and out the other side. it has just stopped throbbing.

who’d a thunk you could get 4 cabbage in there, but you have to pound them.
the color of the slicer is rather overpowering but it was £4 cheaper than the more sensible colours (from Germany, as was the pot.)
i will try it in about a month (do not tell Wendy)

note the blood on the pounder.

 

I did have four apples to peel and cut into small pieces (one for each cabbage,) but as i cut a finger tip into small pieces the fun went out of that idea.